Musical toy



Dec. 244, 1957 E. JEFFERSON 2,817,188

MUSICAL TOY Filed July 12, 1955 g v k\ I K i i J Z0 I INVENTOR.

Z'mmetfz/zffl/Jm /z a ATTORNEYS MUSICAL TOY Emmett Jefferson, Babylon, N. Y.

Application July 12, 1955, Serial No. 521,598

2 Claims. (Cl. 46-177) This invention relates to a toy, and more particularly to a musical ball and bat type of toy.

The object of the invention is to provide a ball and bat toy which will produce or emit an audible musical sound when the toy is used. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a toy which includes a main body portion and a handle, there being a flexible casing secured to the body portion and a line having a ball connected thereto leading from the casing whereby as the bat is manually moved to cause the ball to move towards and away from the bat, there will be produced various sounds which will add to the enjoyment of the toy.

A further object of the invention is to provide a musical toy which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the toy, con structed according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the toy of the present invention.

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the toy, with parts broken away and in section, showing the ball against the bat and with the flexible casing collapsed.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing the ball away from the bat and with the casing extended.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the plates forming one of the sounding devices which simulate the sound of a castanet when the bat is moved.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a bracket or disc holding reeds which produce a musical sound as air passes therethrough.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a modification showing a whistle which can be used in lieu of the reeds of Figure 6.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a bat which can be made of any suitable material such as wood, and the bat 10 includes a main body portion 11 and a handle 12.

There is further provided a flexible casing 14 which can be made of any suitable material such as rubber, and the casing 14 has its peripheral edges secured to the body portion 11 in any suitable manner, as for example by means of an adhesive 15. Thus, the central portion of the casing 14 can move towards and away from the bat 10 as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

A line or flexible cable 16 has one end connected to the casing 14, and an enlargement 1'7 is arranged on an end of the line 16 for maintaining the line 16 connected to the casing 14. A ball 13 which may be made of rubber is connected to the other end of the line 16.

The body portion 11 of the bat 10 is provided with a circular opening 19, and seated in the opening 19 is a nited Sttes Patent sounding member 20, Figure 6. The sounding member 20 includes an annular flange 21 which helps maintain the sounding member 20 in the opening 19. The sounding member 20 may be seated in the opening 19 with a snug or tight fit so that it will not accidentally work loose therefrom. The sounding member 20 include a pair of oppositely extending reeds 22 and 23 which are similar in construction to the reeds found in a harmonica. Thus, regardless of the direction that the air passes through the sounding member 20, one of the reeds 22 or 23 will be actuated to thereby produce an audible musical tone or sound.

Referring to Figure 7 of the drawings, there is shown a modified sounding member which is indicated by the numeral 24. The sounding member 24 is adapted to be used in lieu of or in place of the sounding member 20, and the sounding member 24 of Figure 7 will produce a whistle as the toy is used. Thus, the disc-like sounding member 24 is adapted to be snugly seated in the opening 19 in lieu of the member 20, and the sounding member 24 includes a circular opening 25 to produce the whistling sound as air passes therethrough.

The musical toy includes an additional sounding member which is indicated generally by the numeral 26. The sounding member 26 includes a bar 27 which has transverse prongs 28 on its ends for engagement with the bat 10. A stem 29 extends from the bar 27, and the stem 29 projects through central openings 32 in a pair of movable plates 31, Figure 5. An end of the stem 29 may be peened over as at 30 to maintain the plates 31 on the stem 29. The plates 31 may be seated in a suitable opening or recess 33 in the bat 10, Figure 3.

From the foregoing it is apparent that there has been provided a musical toy and in use the toy is gripped by the handle 12 and reciprocated or moved back and forth whereby the ball 18 will move from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4 and then back and forth since the ball 18 is made of resilient material such as rubber. The cord 16 is connected to the flexible casing 14, and when the ball 18 moves away from the bat 10 to the position shown in Figure 4 the casing 14 will expand to suck in air through the sounding member 20 so that one of the reeds 22 or 23 will be actuated to thereby produce a pleasing sound. Also, when the parts move from the position shown in Figure 4 back to the position shown in Figure 3, the other reed will be actuated since the air within the casing 14 will be expelled out through the sounding member 20 in the direction of the arrows shown in Figure 3 whereby a sound will again be produced. Thus, the sounding member 20 will be actuated regardless of the direction of movement of the bat. Instead of using the sounding member 20 to produce the musical notes, a whistling sound can be produced by using the disc 24 in lieu of the sounding member 20.

In addition to the sound produced by the member 26 or the member 24, there will be produced a pleasing sound due to the vibration of movement of the pair of plates 31 which are loosely mounted on the stem 29. These plates 31 will contact each other to produce a sound similar to a castanet as the bat is moved back and forth.

If desired the ball 18 may also be provided with a sounding member such as a whistle or reed. The flexible casing 14 can have its outer edges secured to the body portion 11 of the bat 10 by means of an adhesive or cement. When the ball moves to the position shown in Figure 4, the casing 14 will exert a bellows-like action to suck air through the reeds in the sounding member 20 to produce a musical note or whistle. The casing 14 is made of flexible material and the line 16 may also be made of flexible material such as rubber. Other sounding members can be used which will be actuated by air passing thereover. The plates 31 simulate the sound of a castanet or tambourine when the bat is moved. The parts can be made of any desired shape or size and also the shape of the bat 10 can be varied as desired. The various parts can be colored or decorated so that the toy has a highly attractive appearance.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising a bat embodying a main body portion and a handle, a flexible casing having its outer periphery secured to said body portion so that central portion of the casing can move toward and away from the bat, a line having one end connected to said casing, an enlargement arranged on the end of the line for maintaining the line connected to the casing, a ball connected to said line, there being a central opening in said body portion, a sounding member seated in said opening, said casing serving to selectively force air through the sounding member, said sounding member comprising a disc seated in said opening, a pair of oppositely extending musical reeds carried by said disc so that regardless of the direction that the air passes through the sounding member, one of the reeds will be actuated to thereby produce an audible musical tone or sound, a bracket secured to said bat and including prongs extending into said bat, a stem extending transversely from said bracket, and a pair of circular sounding plates having central openings for receiving said stem.

2. A toy comprising a bat embodying a main body Cit , portion, a sounding member seated in said opening, said casing serving to selectively force air through the sounding member, said sounding member comprising a disc seated in said opening, a pair of oppositely extending musical reeds carried by said disc so that regardless of the direction that the air passes through the sounding member, one of the reeds will be actuated to thereby produce an audible musical tone or sound, a bracket secured to said bat and including prongs extending into said hat, a stem extending transversely from said bracket, and a pair of circular sounding plates having central openings for receiving said stem, there being a recess in said bat for receiving said plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,017,376 Brandt Feb. 13, 1912 1,055,681 Steiner Mar. 11, 1913 1,559,953 Furman Nov. 3, 1925 2,196,253 Bella Apr. 9, 1940 2,519,324 Smith Aug. 15, 1950 2,678,517 Gibson May 18, 1954 

